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David Lyford-Smith You\u2019re more likely to know the key points of Oracle text – such as targeting restrictions – without having to look it up, which useful when you\u2019re watching a game and suspect a mistake has been made, but need card text to know for sure. This can be vital for investigations \u2013 you will be better able to understand the context for the players\u2019 decisions, and their possible motivations. You can know what the key cards are in a certain matchup and how to determine if a player\u2019s version of events makes sense or not.<\/p>\n You\u2019ll know when certain easy-to-miss cheats \u2013 such as playing additional lands in a long turn, or subtle shuffle-stacking \u2013 have an especially high value to the players, and hence when to look out for them.<\/p>\n In investigations that involve interviewing players, you\u2019ll be better able to assess the truthfulness of their explanations of the situation. For example, I had a situation where a player with extra cards in hand claimed that they hadn\u2019t noticed because they weren\u2019t paying attention to their draws. However, I had noticed that they had missed some land drops, and therefore knew that the player would be especially attuned to new cards in that situation. This helped me identify that the player was likely to be lying.<\/p>\n
\nLevel 3, United Kingdom<\/p><\/div>Hi! My name\u2019s David Lyford-Smith<\/a><\/span><\/span>, and I\u2019m an experienced tournament judge. I\u2019ve been a Level 3 for around five years, and am currently the Regional Coordinator for the UK, Ireland, and South Africa region. I\u2019ve judged a few Pro Tours, dozens of Grand Prix, and several other high-profile events. I\u2019m also a devoted Competitive Magic player, and in this article, I\u2019m going to talk about how that\u2019s made me a better judge \u2013 and how it can help you, too. I focus on playing competitively, but many of the gains are also attainable just by rocking up at your local FNM, too.<\/p>\n
You know the cards better<\/h2>\n
<\/p>Reading cards can only go so far in remembering what they do. Actually getting the cards in your hands and playing with them will make that knowledge stick far better, and will make your ability to answer questions that much better.<\/p>\n
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\nNot only will you know individual cards better, but playing will also let you know some of the deck archetypes and key cards in a format. This will help you get ahead of the common interactions of a format, knowing a lot of the key questions before they even come up. It\u2019s also invaluable in deck checking, where greater familiarity with card art can help you sort and check without having to spend a lot of time reading and comparing names.<\/p>\nYou know how to think about strategy as well as rules<\/h2>\n
<\/p>This is the big gain for me. Playing to win requires breaking games down and understanding the strategy underneath. As a judge, this skill is invaluable. First of all, it helps you when you\u2019re coming in to a match \u2013 you can compress large board states more effectively, letting you assess what\u2019s going on.<\/p>\n